Electric switch



April 24, 1934. H. J. HAMMERLY 1,956,422

ELECTRIC SWITCH Filed May 29, 1.933 2 Sheets-Sheet l gifs; l I- 2 3&1 f 12\1\l 17 x3.

April 24, 1934. H, J, HAMMERLY ELECTRIC SWITCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1933 INVENTOR HERMAN J MMERLY,

Patented Apr. 24, 1934 PATENT OFFICE ELECTRI Herman J. Hammerly,

c swrrcn New Britain, Conn., as-

signor to The Trumbull Electric Manufacturing Company, Plainville, Connecticut Conn., a corporation of Application May 29, 1933, Serial No. 673,380

5 Claims.

My invention relates to electrical switches and particularly to the commercial type of switches which are adapted for general industrial purposes and which are usually enclosed in a box or cabinet having an external operating handle.

One obj ect of my invention is to provide a switch construction by means of which a plural number of poles of a circuit may be simultaneously or selectively opened or closed by means of a single insulating slide which slide carries a separate conducting element for electrically connecting each of the respective pairs of stationary contacts and which slide is adapted to be interposed between the members of each of the respective pairs of stationary contacts in all of its operative positions.

Another object is to provide a multi-polar switch construction in which each pole or leg of the circuit may be controlled by a single pole switch unit by means of a pair of opposed stationary contacts -for each pole of the circuit to be controlled and a single movable insulating slide which is interposed between the members of all of the respective pairs of stationary contacts and carries a separate element for electrically connecting each of the pairs of stationary contacts and in which construction the connecting elements and the pairs of stationary contacts may be so spaced with respect to the movement of the slide that the respective pairs of stationary contacts may be electrically connected or disconnected simultaneously or sequentially.

Another object is to provide a switch construction which is adapted to be mounted in a box but in which all of the switch parts, including the I operating handle may be assembled as a self-contained and independently operable unit.

Another object is to provide a unit construction in which the operating handle is secured directly to the switch base and so arranged that the unit may be mounted in a box with the handle projecting through, a perforation in the cover of the box to form an externally operated handle, this mounting being eiected without any change or adaptation of any part of the switch and without connecting the operating handle or switch mechanism to the cover of the box or to any part carried by the box or the cover.

Another object is to provide a completely operable switch unit in which the operating handle is so positioned with respect to the base that the unit may be mounted in a box with an unobstructed wiring space at both ends and both sides of the unit.

Another object is to provide a switch constructicn which includes an insulating slide adaped to be interposed between the members of the respective pairs of stationary contacts and a onepiece insulating operating handle which may be directly, operably and detachably connected to the insulating slide.

Another object is to provide a switch construction which is substantially free of metallic parts except the usual mounting screws and such parts as are actually necessary to conduct the current.

Another object is to provide a practical switch construction of unusually compact dimensions and having comparatively few parts, all of which are simple, easily made and rugged and can be readily assembled at a low cost.

Another object is to provide a double-make and double-break switch construction which will safely control a circuit of maximum capacity for any given dimensions of the parts or spacing of the parts.

Another object is to provide a switch which may be mounted so as to extend either in a perpendicular or a horizontal direction and in which construction the wire lugs or terminals may be mounted so as to extend either parallel with the base or at right angles to the sides of the base.

Another object is to provide a switch construction in which the stationary contacts are so arranged that the contacts and the operation of the switch are plainly visible for inspection from the front when the switch is installed.

Another object is to provide a switch construction which requires but comparatively few parts and which parts may be readily assembled as a unit entirely without the use of rivets or any special operations.

It should be understood however that my invention is not limited to a switch which attains all of these objects.

In carrying out the invention in a simple form I provide an insulating base having recesses or grooves in which the stationary contacts and movable switch members are mounted.

The sides and ends of the base are so constructed with reference to the stationary and movable contacts that the circuit terminals may be adjusted at various angles.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the switch embodying one form of the improvements of my invention showing the circuit terminals in full lines ar-v ranged vertically and showing in dot and dash lines two of the circuit terminals turned at right angles for lateral connection.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the plane of the line 2--2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the plane of the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing parts of the construct-ion.

The base or main body is formed of insulating material preferably in one piece. The main stationary contacts 7, 8, 9 and 10 are preferably of the spring arm type with contact faces arranged in pairs with their faces inclined as shown in Fig. 1. Each of these contacts is provided with an anchorage plate or foot 1l which may be integral with it or otherwise suitably formed, as is common in switch construction, and secured to the base, for instance, by a screw 12.

The circuit terminals 13, 14, 15 and 16 may be of the usual conventional type each secured, for instance, by a binding post 17 of any suitable form.

Each of the various stationary contacts is mounted in a recess 18 in the base and central post members 19, 19 are provided which separate the recesses on opposite sides. There are also projecting members 20, 20 and 21, 2l at opposite ends of the base which form additional surrounding barriers for the sides of the contact receiving recesses. The base is provided with a longitudinal groove 22 which is closed at the bottom and open toward the front and provides a guideway for the sliding insulating bar 23 which carries the movable switch members 24 and 25. These switch members are preferably in the form of rollers of suitable metal loosely mounted in the apertures 26 and 27 in the bar 23. These switch members 24 and 25 are adapted to be moved into position between the respective pairs of contacts 7, 8 and 9, 10.

The contacts are so shaped as to permit the easy entrance of the switch rollers between the respective contacts when closing the circuit and so that the pressure of the spring contacts will tend to assist in the ejection of the roller switch members when the circuit is being opened.

The main switch bar 23 is adapted to be reciprocated by an oscillating member 28 provided with a hinge pin 29 supported in recesses 30 in the outer ends of the posts 19, 19. This hinge pin may be held in place by plates 31 secured by screws 32 in such a manner that the operating member 28 may be readily removed from the front of the base when the plates 31 are removed. It will also be obvious that when the member 28 is removed the sliding bar 23 may be removed, together with the switch members 24 and 25. In other words, all of the parts of the switch actuating mechanism are directly or indirectly held in place by means of the screws 32, 32 vtogether with the correlated shape of the respective parts of the base and the actuating members. 'Ihe oscillating actuating member 28 is provided with a projection 33 which loosely lts in a notch 34 in the outer edge of the bar 23 so that when the lever 28 is swung on the pivot 29 the switch bar 23 is reciprocated in the base to open and close the circuit.

It will be seen that each leg of the circuit is opened or closed at two places by this construction and that the contacts and switch members are enclosed and surrounded by insulating material in such a way as to substantially prevent the formation of any dangerous or damaging arc.

The construction of the switch is such that the base may be mounted either horizontally or perpendicularly so that the circuit wires may be brought into the switch from the top and bottom or one or more of the wire lugs or terminals may be turned at right angles to receive a conductor from one side, thus adapting the construction to installation in various positions and enabling it to accommodate various wiring arrangements and to permit adjustment to facilitate wiring.

Other advantages will be apparent to those familiar with the art.

While I have shown and described my construction as applied to a two pole, On and Oil' switch, it will be readily apparent that by changing the resepective spacings of the movable contacts and the stationary contacts other combinations may be provided for-for instance a third movable Contact may be carried by the insulating slide for engagement with a third pair of stationary contacts to provide for a three pole circuit, likewise a fourth set of contacts may be used for a four pole circuitagain the two sets of contacts as shown in the drawings may be so spaced that one set of contacts may be connected and one set disconnected by the same movement of the operating handle which construction is that of a double-throw switch.

The double throw adaptation may be applied to a multiple number of circuits and it will also be readily apparent that a number of sets of contacts may be so spaced as to be engaged or disengaged successively, alternately or selectively.

I claim:

1. An electric switch including a one-piece insulating base having a groove extending lengthwise of the base and open toward the front of the base and having recesses on each side of the groove, pairs of spring contacts mounted in said recesses, a one-piece insulating bar mounted to slide lengthwise in said groove, switch rollers loosely mounted in the bar and engageable with the respective pairs of contacts, pairs of projecting barrier posts integral with the base, and an insulating actuating member pivotally mounted on one of said pairs of posts and having a detachable connection with one edge of the 12() sliding bar.

. 2. An electric switch including a one-piece insulating base having a groove extending lengthwise of the base and open toward the front of the base and having recesses on each side of 325 the groove, pairs of opposed contacts mounted in said recesses, circuit terminals connected to the respective contacts, said base having integral barrier projections adjacent each contact, an insulating bar mounted to slide lengthwise in said groove, switch members loosely carried by said bar for engagement with the respective pairs of contacts, and a one-piece insulating actuating member pivotally mounted on the base and directly connected with the sliding bar.

3. An electric switch including a base having two central integral projections forming insulating barriers and posts for supporting a switch operating handle, an operating handle pivotally mounted on said posts, two integral projections at each end of the base and a recess between each post and the adjacent end projection, a stationary contact mounted'in each of said recesses, and a one-piece insulating member mounted to slide lengthwise in the base between the central posts, between the respective end projections and between the contacts of opposite polarity, movable contacts loosely mounted on said insulating slide member and said operating member having direct connection with said insulating slide member and 150 being readily detachable from the front of said base.

4. An electric switch including an insulating base having two integral central projections forming barriers and supporting posts and two integral projections at each end of the ,base and provided with recesses between each post and the adjacent end projections, a stationary contact mounted Iin each of said recesses, an insulating switch member mounted to slide in the base between the center posts and between the respective end projections, bridging contacts carried by said sliding member, and circuit terminals for the contacts pivotally secured to the respective stationary contacts and each terminal being adjustable to diierent angles between a central post and one of the end projections'.

5. An electric switch base formed of a single piece of insulating material having a central, longitudinally extending guide groove -and an outwardly projecting post alongside of the central part of each4 side of the groove constituting insulating barriers and also providing supporting means for a swinging operating member, said base having an outwardly projecting barrier at each end of the groove and at each side thereof and having recesses at each side of the groove and on opposite sides of the central posts between the end barriers and the respective posts, said base having laterally disposed supporting faces at each side of each end of the base alongside of the respective recesses and extending to the ends of the base outside of the adjacent end barriers, a resilient stationary contact mounted in each recess and having a foot portion secured to the adjacent supporting face of the base, circuit terminals secured to the respective feet of the contacts and a switch member slidable in said groove by means of said operating member and having loosely supported contacts coacting with the respective stationary contacts.

HERMAN J. HAMMERLY. 

